The Beijing Declaration: Another Economic World is Possible

'Another World is Possible', the familiar slogan of the World Social Forum, is now being put to the test, writes Hilary Wainwright from Beijing. Can the activists and intellectuals of the movements for global justice propose convincing alternatives, drawing on the struggles and experiments of recent years and on interesting historical experiences? October 2008

In Beijing this week, during the Asian-Europe People's Forum, there was an opportunity for a number of social movement organisations to take up this challenge. On three nights following the formal business of the forum, we produced this document, The global financial crisis: an historic opportunity for social transformation, with interesting input from Chinese participants on the second night but not directly in the drafting of the final document. (Chinese economists will contribute to the December/January issue of Red Pepper.) This 'Beijing Declaration' is intended as a living document to be worked on by others, cross-fertilised with other initiatives and to be used as a resource for action.

Over the coming months, Red Pepper - the magazine and the website - offers itself as a laboratory for working on alternatives to the unravelling financial and economic institutions of neoliberal capitalism. We will invite critical and actively engaged thinkers on political economy from across the world to contribute and provide links to others sources of useful debate and proposals. Please contribute your ideas and your suggestions about who to involve and what other websites and sources to connect with.